were adjusted to densities of 2×104 cells/mL in complete medium, and 500
µL aliquots were seeded into each compartment of a four-well microchamber slide
(NuncTM; Thermo Fisher Scientific). One microchamber slide was prepared for each
transfection condition, and the microchamber slides were immediately incubated at
37°C in a 5% CO2 atmosphere for 3, 6, or 9 days. Next, the culture medium
was removed and the cells were fixed with methanol-acetone (1:1 v/v) for 20 min at
-20°C. The NTC, IGF-I-TC, SOX9-TC, and CTC on the
3rd, 6th, and 9th PT days were incubated with monoclonal antibodies against both
Col-I (ab23446; Abcam, Inc., USA) and Col-II (ab34712; Abcam, Inc.), and positive
staining was detected using mouse- and rabbit-specific HRP/DAB detection IHC Kit
(Abcam, Inc.), according to the manufacturer's instructions.